Sweden’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal from former Iranian prison official Hamid Nouri, who faces life imprisonment for his role in the purge of dissidents in 1988.
The decision marks the final ruling in a case that has stirred international attention.
Nouri, 62, received the life sentence from a Swedish district court in July 2022 for “grave breaches of international humanitarian law and murder.” After months of legal fight, a appeals court upheld the verdict in December 2023, leading Nouri to seek recourse with the Supreme Court.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Supreme Court affirmed its decision, stating, “The judgment of the Court of Appeal stands.”
The case revolves around the execution of over 5,000 prisoners in Iran, allegedly ordered by the then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini as retaliation against attacks by the opposition group, the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), towards the end of the Iran-Iraq war (1980 –1988).
Under the principle of universal jurisdiction, Sweden prosecuted Nouri for his role, finding that he had served as a deputy prosecutor in a Tehran-area prison, facilitating the execution process.
Arrested on November 6, 2019, at Arlanda Airport in Stockholm, Nouri had dismissed all allegations related to the 1988 executions, labeling the events and charges against him as a “fictional, imaginary, and fabricated story.”
The “Death Commissions” in 1988 followed the issuance of a fatwa by Khomeini, ordering the execution of thousands of political and ideological prisoners in the prisons of Iran. The executions were carried out secretly, and burial orders were issued for mass graves.
Some other people involved in the crime currently hold key positions within the Islamic Republic, including Ebrahim Raisi, the President of Iran, who previously served as the head of the judiciary and was a member of the Death Commissions in Tehran and Karaj.
Additionally, in April 2022, as Nouri’s trial unfolded, Iran detained Johan Floderus, a Swedish citizen working for the EU’s diplomatic service, on espionage charges. Floderus, 33, now faces the death penalty.
Critics have condemned Iran’s actions, labeling them as “hostage diplomacy.” Floderus’ parents have urged the Swedish government to negotiate a prisoner exchange, offering Nouri in return for their son’s release.
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